Improvement in grain-meters



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. B. STONER. Grain-Meter.-

No. 218,594. Patented Aug. 12, 1879.

[22 val item: 5 Q94 6 54m 8 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. B. STONER. Grain-Meter.

Patented Aug. 12,1879.

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3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. B. STONER.

Grain-Meter.

Patented Aug. 12,1879.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. STONER, OF NE YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT TO WILSON D. SUYDAM, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

IMPROVEMENT IN GRAIN-METERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 218,594, dated August 12, 1879; application filed February 17, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN B. SToNER, of the city, county, and State o New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Automatic Grain-XVeighing Machines, which improvement is fully described in the following specification and drawings acconn ianying same, in which Figure 1 is a top viewot' one of myimproved grain-weighin g machines. Fig. 2 is a side ele-. vation of the same, showing parts of the frame broken away to expose the operating mechanism and part of a measuring-tum)el broken away and sectioned to expose the inner con struction of the same. Fig. 1:3 is a vertical transverse section in the line a- .t' of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a side view of one of the balancingweightsemployed in my machine suspended and as it appears when in operation. Fig. 5 is a vertical central transverse section of two balancing-weights, one of which is shown in and one out of operation.

My invention relates to machines operated by the weight of grain, which is passed into it in a stream or current from a bin or reser voir, and which causes the machine to indicate at intervals each bushel or given number of bushels of grain thus received by the machine, according to the bushel-weight of the grain to be measured.

The first part of my invention consists in a double chambered hopper provided with an oscillating dischargevalve at the bottom, and with a large upper and a small lower compartment in each chamber, the two compartments of each chamber being connected by a contract-ed throat, whereby a sudden discharge of both chambers and premature operation of the supplygates are prevented, as will be shown.

The second part of my invention consists in the combination of the said hopper with a branching double supply-chute, with two cutoff gates and suitable mechanism for operating the same, for the purpose of alternately supplying the upper chambers of the hopper.

The third part of my invention consists in the construction of the balancing-weigh ts used in my machine, whereby they may be readily set into and out of operation without removin g them from the machine.

The fourth part of my invention consists in an adjustable partition in each upper chamber of the hopper, whereby the capacity of said chambers may be either enlarged or contracted, accordingly as the specific gravity of the ditt'erent grains being weighed n'iay re quire.

The fifth part of my invention consists in the combination of an oscillating weighted lever-arm, the double chambered hopper, and the oscillating double discharge-valve.

In the drawings, A represents a suitable frame, having at its top an inclined forked chute, 13, which, in practice, is connected at its upper end with the bottom dischargeopening of a grain bin or elevator by means ofan ordinary spout or funnel. The branches Z) I) of the chute are closed by means of gates D 12 fastened to the ends of levers Z1 0 which have fulerums b b on the chute. The branches 1) b terminate above two chambers, 0 c of a hopper, O, which is suitably suspended upon two knifeedge bearings, d d, of two parallel scale-beam lever-arms, D D, having suitable l'ulcrums d (l on the frame of the machine, which fulcrums are on a lower level than the said knife-edges d, in order to accelerate the descent of the hopper, as will be hereinafter explained. The rear ends of these lever-arms are united by a transverse scale beam or bar, D the play or dip of which is limited by stopping-plates E, having projecting upper and lower abutments c, as shown in Fig. 2.

The rear ends of the lever-arms D Dare, by means of rods 1'', connected with the rear ends of two lower levers, F, having their fulcrums at f on the frame of the machine.

A transverse scale beam or bar, F, is fast ened to the rods f, and upon this beam a weight or weights, G, are fitted loosely, and at will fastened thereto, in order to keep up the hopper C while one of its compartments is being supplied with grain, and also serve as the weights for weighing the grain.

The weight G is provided with an angular slot, the horizontal part g of which permits the weight to be applied to and withdrawn from the beam F in a horizontal direction when said beam is in line with said slot and the vertical part g of said slot permits the rod F to move freely up and down thereinwhen either one of the weights is not in use for weighing.

A set-screw, 9 in the top of each of the weights G serves to clamp the weights to the beam F, as seen in Fig. 4, in order to make them operative for weighing purposes. This set-screw is screwed up, as seen in Fig.5, when one of the weights is not to be used for weighing. A cross-piece, a, of the frame supports the respective weights when notin use. By this construction of weights corresponding with the number of pounds contained in any given bushel of grain they may be mounted upon the supporting cross-piece a in a row, so as to be successively used for weighing purposes without the necessity of removing them when not required for immediate use.

The motions of the hopper O are steadied by ordinary guide-stays D The hopper O, by means of a partition, 0 is divided into two compartments, each of which is subdivided into two connected chambers, c c and c c". The connection of said chambers is effected by means of contracted throats c c in the inclined bottoms 0 c of the upper chambers.

The lower chambers, c, are alternately closedand opened by means of an oscillating angular valve, H, having its fulcrum h at the center of the bottom of the hopper. Two angular spring-catches, I I, are attached to the hopper, one to either end of the same, and serve to latch alternately either side of the valve H to the bottom part of the hopper in the act of weighing, and two abutting stops, h h are attached to the frame A below an upper arm of each of the spring-catches at such an altitude that the descent of the hopper will cause the upper arm of said spring-catches to come in contact with the said abutting stops,

and the latching end of the catches to be thrown out by them, thereby disengaging the valve H.

At the ends of the valve H projections h k are provided, whereby the ends of two levers, J J, are supported when the valve is closed. The levers J J have their fulcrums jj at the rear part of the frame, and they are connected by means of rods K K with the levers b 11 carrying the supply-cutoff gates I) b".

A stationary hopper, L, fastened to the frame below the hopper 0, receives the grain from the hopper O, and conducts it to abin below, or to a transporting-vessel.

A sliding partition, M, secured in guides m, is provided in each chamber, 0 and a, which partition may be adjusted high or low, in order to give the required capacity for grain of different specific gravity, and thus the hopper be capable of containing so much grain delivered from the supply-chute at the moment of the closing of the chute as shall be equal in weight to the weight or weights G employed for measuring, the grain weighed being always at the same level in thehopper at the moment of cutting off the supply.

A weighted lever-arm attached to the oscillating valve H serves to steady the valve H in either of its two main positions, and facilitates the operation of the latclrhooks I I.

One of the scale-beam levers D is provided-. with a pawl, a, which operates an ordinary counting mechanism, N, secured to the side of the machine, whereby, with the aid of a suitable dial or dials, the correct number of pounds measured is always indicated.

In the hopper C, Fig. '3, I have indicated scales V V, the oifice of which is to show the fraction of a cargo of grain which may remain in the hopper, but of not suflicient quantity to be weighed in the hopper. scale will be so graduated as to show the number of bushels by.stroke measure, and such fractional portion of the cargo can then be discharged from the hopper by disengaging by hand the catch I or I, as the case may be, from the valve H.

Operation: The machine in its normal condition stands with one of the supplygates open and the corresponding lower chamber of the hopper closed by the valve H.

The drawings show the gate b and the chamber 0 open and the sliding partitions M and weigh ts G in position and ready for operation.

.The grain to be measured is supplied from a bin above the machine, or from an elevator, into the chute B, and it fills the closed branch b, and passes through the open branch b into the chamber 0 and through the throat c iuto the closed chamber 0 After the chamber 0 is filled the upper chamber, 0 becomes gradually filled with grain until its weight corresponds with the weight on the scale-beam, when the hopper is caused to descend. During this descent of the-hopper O the angular latch-hooks I I are tripped by the abutments h h and the grain in the chamber 0 forces the valve H down, thereby closing the chamber 0 The contents of the chamber 0 are discharged instantly, and by their discharge the weight of the hopper is so much lessened that the weight G begins to descend and causes the hopper to rise. While the hopper is descending, the lever J also descends and closes the gate b and cuts off the supply from the branch b While the hopperis ascending, the weighed grain in the chamber 0 continues to discharge itself through the throat 0 upon the valve below, from which it descends to the hopper L.

Meantime the valve H is kept by the weight of the discharging grain and by the weight 0 in its reversed position until the'upper end of the latch-hook leaves the abutment-stop h, and by its lower end latches the valveH to the bottom part of the chamber 0. This done, the, further ascent of the hopper causes the projection k of the valve to come in contact with and lift the lever J, whereby the gate b becomes opened. Thebranch I) now discharges the grain into the chambers c 0 the gate b remaining closed, because the lever J is not operated by the projection k of the valve when the parts are in this position.

The size of the throats c c is such that the weighed grain in one chamber is discharged In such case the before the quantity supplied in the other chamber is heavy enough to commence to move the hopper down.

The operation of the described parts is-the same alternately on either side of the partition 0 so that supply and discharge go on witlr out interruption, changing from right to left, and vice versa, in the hopper.

One of the weights G, used for weighing the lightest kind of grain, is clamped to the center of the beam F and remains there, and when heavier grains are to be weighed, addi tional weights G, corresponding to the difference of the weight of such heavy grains as compared with the lightest, are attached in the manner described to the beam F.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. A hopper having its two chambers formed, respectively, with a large compartment at top and a small compartment at bottom, and the two compartments in connnunication with each other by means of acontracted portion or throat, in combination with a two-way chute provided with cutoff gates, at scale-beam, a double-acting valve, and tripping mechanism for operating the cut-oif gates, this combination being such that the chute remains stationary, while the two chambers of the hopper and the large and small compartments of each chamber thereot' rise and fall together, and

that the valve is opened on one side of the partition of the hopper and closed on the other side thereof when only a small weight from the full. chamber of grain is resting directly nponit, and that the sudden discharge of the whole chamber of grain cannot take place when the valve is thus opened, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The hopper 0, having a large upper conipartment and a small lower compartment, the two compartments being rigid with one another and connected by a contracted portion or throat, whereby the weight of the larger portion of the grain in a chamber of the hopper is supported in a great measure in the upper compartment above the grain in the lower compartment while the discharge-valve is be ing opened, and gradually discharged after the valve is opened, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. The double valve provided with a counter-balance, in combination with the hopper having two chambers and relatively large and small compartments in each chamber, which are connected by a narrow throat, substantially as and for the purpose described.

-L. The weights, slotted as at g g, and provided with the set-screw substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. The hopper 0, provided with the vertical sliding partition M, substantially in the manner shown and described.

JOHN B. STONER.

Witnesses J. P. THEODORE LANG, W. D. SUYDAM. 

